Infosheet - By the numbers: National Indigenous History Month 2023

By the numbers: National Indigenous History Month 2023

National Indigenous History Month is an opportunity to recognize the diversity, contributions and accomplishments of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit, today and every day.

Remarkable cultural and linguistic diversity

Over 70 Indigenous languages were reported in the 2021 Census. From 2016 to 2021, the number of Indigenous people who learned an Indigenous language as a second language rose 6.7%.

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.

A growing population

The 2021 Census counted 1.8 million First Nations people, Métis and Inuit, accounting for 5.0% of Canada’s total population. From 2016 to 2021, the Indigenous population increased by 9.4%.

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.

High school completion rates of Indigenous people are increasing

From 2016 to 2021, the share of people who completed high school rose 4.6 percentage points among Métis, 5.5 percentage points among First Nations people, and 4.7 percentage points among Inuit.

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.

Youth are well-represented among Indigenous entrepreneurs

Young entrepreneurs (younger than 35) accounted for 14.1% of owners of Indigenous-owned businesses, compared with 10.7% of owners of non-Indigenous-owned businesses.

Source: B. Gueye, A. Lafrance-Cooke and J. Oyarzun, 2022, "Identifying Indigenous Business Owners and Indigenous-Owned Businesses," Analytical Studies: Methods and References, Catalogue no. 11-633-X.